John Skipper, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Meadowlark Media, is reportedly leaving the company after four years. Skipper worked with sports talk host Dan Le Batard to help grow the company and previously inked a three-year contract with DraftKings as the presenting sponsor of programming. In addition to creating documentary content, the company has been producing original sports podcasts such as The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz and Pablo Torre Finds Out with studios in Miami and New York City. Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports was first to report the news of Skipper’s departure.
A source with knowledge of the situation told Barrett Media that Meadowlark has chosen to focus its business on its shows and that Skipper’s job does not exist in the same way amid changes to the economy with scripted/unscripted programming. Although Skipper is leaving his current position, he will continue taking part in The Sporting Class podcast with co-hosts David Samson and Pablo Torre, and he also remains on good terms with the company.
“Thankful to John Skipper for his friendship and look forward to his continued leadership and guidance on and off air,” Le Batard said in a post on social media. “I asked him to build a successful, fiercely independent media company within four years, and he has. Meadowlark will continue to produce films and documentaries. Our audio/video network is thriving, and we look forward to sharing good news shortly in that regard. I’m so grateful that our Skipper has navigated today’s turbulent media seas to get us into much safer waters.”
Meadowlark Media has worked in the scripted and unscripted space across various projects over the last several years, some of which include Sports Explains the World, After the Whistle and The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox. The company is also in the process of working on a docuseries for Prime Video about the last few years of the career of WNBA superstar Diana Taurasi. Le Batard’s program and other Meadowlark shows have been broadcast on DraftKings Network, although the host divulged that the deal expired in a few months during a March episode.
Skipper previously served as the executive chairman of DAZN where he was responsible for overseeing the company’s global expansion and strategy for rights acquisitions. Before that time, he was the president of ESPN and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks, working in the role for five years and inking media rights deals with entities such as the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and the College Football Playoff. Skipper launched ESPN The Magazine in 1997 and worked in several leadership roles over his two decades with the company.
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